Utilitarianism argues that the best action is always the one that yields maximum utility. The core idea behind this theory is that the effects of actions determine whether the action is morally right or wrong. According to utilitarian’s‚ the function of morality is to increase what is good‚ for example happiness and pleasure‚ and decrease the occurrence of bad things. It follows that actions are morally right to the extent that they produce the greatest good for the greatest number. Actions are wrong
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J.S. Mill believes that one basic principle should govern our behavior. That basic principle is that our actions should maximize happiness for all‚ not just yourself. Happiness means the pleasure and the absence of pain. When Kant talks about pleasure‚ he does not mean physical pleasure such as sex or eating. Pleasure should be associated with intellectual and moral pleasures. An example of this principle is the Golden Rule. I have been aware of the Golden Rule ever since I started school and it
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The basic premise of utilitarianism is we have a moral obligation to produce the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people (Mill‚ p. 364) and Peter Singer believes we have a moral obligation to help others less fortunate than we to the extent at which no more moral good comes of comparable significance to the bad thing that we “ought” prevent (Singer‚ p. 874). How is it that we are somehow philosophically indebted to society and required to alleviate suffering? Can such an obligation even
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Throughout the semester we studied three philosophers Thomas Hobbes‚ John Stuart Mill‚ and Immanuel Kant. Each of these philosophers believed that there was an ultimate human good. Hobbes believed that power was the ultimate human good‚ while Mill believed it was happiness‚ or pleasure in life. Kant on the other hand believed human dignity was the ultimate human good. The two points of view I chose to compare and contrast are those of Mill and Kant. As previously mentioned Mill believed that the
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Since the September 11 terrorist attacks detainees have passed through a prison camp that is known as Guantanamo Bay. Since then‚ there has been an ongoing conversation about the treatment of the detained combatants and many justify the camp under utilitarian grounds. John Mill explains utilitarianism and describes the greatest happiness principle which states that actions are right in as long as they tend to promote happiness. In this paper‚ I will be using the prison camp to argue that utilitarianism
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John Stuart Mills promotes a moral theory in his essay titled‚ ‘Utilitarianism‚’ by stating the best choice of action to take‚ when there are multiple options to choose from‚ is the action that produces the highest overall sum of happiness within a society. By applying this theory to the domain of war‚ one might instantly believe war is always the morally wrong choice. Utilitarianism focuses on the actual consequences of an action‚ and war brings about death‚ suffering‚ and multiple other negative
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Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that advocates doing… Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that advocates doing what is morally right and what makes the greatest number of people happy‚ or what brings the greatest amount of pleasure and the least amount of pain for the most people. The theory assumes that an action is morally justifiable if it increases the overall happiness of the greatest number of beings. To determine if an action is right‚ it is necessary to calculate the amount of pleasure
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Utilitarian’s believe that the purpose of morality is to make life better by increasing the amount of good things in the world and decreasing the amount of bad things. Suppose the class has a test due and some of the students are debating whether or not they should cheat. The utilitarian would need to know many specifics about the test whether or not what the chances are of getting caught cheating‚ what grade they probably would get if you didn’t cheat‚ and what grade you’d probably get if you did
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doesn’t mean that person is automatically happy. Even though someone may have wealth‚ the American Dream lacks the proper structure for anyone to attain it because hard work does not always pay off‚ true love proves a challenge‚ and the dream invokes a paradox. Working hard does not mean one will achieve happiness. A person could work
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Similarly to the Paradox of Horror‚ we also seem to be in a sort of paradoxical state when we experience pleasure from watching films of a melancholic nature. We in engage with these fictions and we experience aesthetic pleasure from these feelings of sadness that they stir up. This stands in conflict with everyday life‚ where most people seek to avoid sadness in order to avoid experiencing the negative feelings that are associated with real sadness. Some attempts to resolve this paradox amounts to discrediting
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